Boiler-tube cleaner.



No. 634,406, Patented Oct. 3, I899. w. n. FORSYTH & E. T. BELL.

BOILER TU'BE CLEANER.

A umic'n filed Oct. 11, 1897.)

No Model.)

Inventors.

Witnesses, W291i NITED STATES i FFIC PATENT WILBER DAVID FORSYTl-I ANDENOS T. BELL, OF PITTSBURG, PENNSYLVANIA.

BOILER-TUBE CLEAN E R.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 634,406, dated October3, 1899.

Application filed 1 1 1 11, 1897. Serial No. 654,833. (No model.)

' States, and residents of Pittsburg, in the county of Allegheny andState of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvementsin Boiler-Tube Cleaners; and

. we do declare the following to be a full, clear,

and exact description of the invention, such as will enable othersskilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same,reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to letters ofreference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

Figure 1 of the drawings is a side elevation of a boiler-tube cleanerembodying our invention. Fig. 2 is a section on the line at m, Fig. 1.Fig. 3 is a section on the line y y, Fig. 1. Fig. 4 is a detail view,partly in sec tion, showing one of the cutter-carrying arms and itscutters in position in the cutter-head; and Fig. 5 is a detail viewshowing a modification.

This invention is designed to provide a tool or implement for cleaningboiler-tubes or other tubes requiring similar treatment which is ofsimple construction, which can be operated without using heavy orcumbersome driving apparatus and can be readily removedfrom one boilerto another, and which is capable of removing heavy deposits of scale ina rapid and thorough manner. Other advantages arising from the inventionwill hereinafter be pointed out.

With these objects in view the invention consists in the novelconstruction and combination of parts, all as hereinafter described, andpointed out in the appended claims.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, the letter A designates thecarrying and dri ving shaft of the tool or implement. Secured upon theforward end portion of said shaft at a distance of several inches fromeach otherare two circular plates 13 and O, the forward plate 0 being ofconsiderably less diameter than the rear plate B. Formed in the plate 13are a series of closed radial slots E, (usually three in number,) whilein the plate 0 are corresponding slots E, which, however, open throughthe periphery of the plate.

.at an angle.

D designates cutter-carrying arms whose forward end portions arepivotally engaged with the slots E and whose rear end portions looselyengage the slots E, in which theyare free to play to a limited extent.The end portions of the arms which are thus engaged with these slots E Eare usually of reduced flattened form, as indicated at (Z, in ordertoprevent the arms from turning, and their forward end portions are formedwith T-heads d. Each of said arms is formed with a series of recesses oropenings H extending into its outer edge and having pins or journals hextending across them. Upon these pins or journals are loosely mountedrolling cutters I, which consist of small peripherally-toothed disks. 7

In the particular tool illustrated in the drawings the tool is providedwith three of the arms D. Each of said arms has three recesses oropenings, in each of the two foremost of which three of the cuttersarejournaled, while four cutters are journaled in the rear opening of eacharm. The number of openings and the number of cutters therein may;however, be varied. The journals 7!. of the two foremost slots of eacharm are inclined outwardly and rearwardly with respect to the shaft A,while that of the rear slot or opening when in normal or non-workingposition is inclined inwardly and rearwardly, the said opening being cutat an acute angle to the other openings. The cutters journaled in theserear slots are thereby caused to present their cutting edges to the faceof the work in planes substantially perpendicular to the axis of thetube being operated upon, the journals thereof, when the arms are at theouter limits of' their radial movement in the slots E, beingsubstantially parallel with the shaft A. The cutters of the other sets,it will be seen, present their edges to the work The outer longitudinaledges of the arms are parallel with the series of journals'h carriedthereby, as shown.

K designates a bell-shaped 'cap having a nut portion 70, which isscrewed upon the threaded forward end of the shaft A. This cap fits overthe disk or plate 0 and not only secures in place the arms D, but alsoacts'as a guide for the implement in performing its work.

The shaft A may be extended rearwardly and form the journal of adriving-motor of suitable character, such as the water-motor indicatedat P, or it may be connected to any suitable known means of propulsion.

The device is operated by being inserted into the end of the tube to beoperated upon, being pushed through the tube with force under rapidrotation or allowed to feed through by its own weight and naturaltendency in that direction, this to be governed by the operator,according to the nature of the work being performed. To obtain the bestresults, the speed of rotation should be rapid, a speed as high as or inexcess of three thousand revolutions per minute being preferred. Duringthe operation the tube should be flushed with a small stream of water tocarry away the disintegrated scale and also to prevent heating, &c.

The arms D being pivoted at their forward ends and caused to swingoutwardly under the force of rotation, the implement is capable ofentering a small opening and cutting its way through, the foremostcutters striking the scale at an angle to the axis of the tube, whilethe rear or finishing cutters act at substantially right angles to suchaxis, and thereby remove all portions of scale which may be left by thepreceding cutters. The construction also causes the cutters which aremost in commission, especially in removing heavy scale, to pressoutwardly with the greatest force on account of the leverage exerted bythe following cutters and portions of arms. While being forced deep intothe scale, they are at the same time capable of yielding to preventbreakage in uneven scale-that is to say, scale which is unequal eitherin thickness or in quality or density. The rear cutters not being set atthe same angle as the front and intermediate ones also enables the toolto be more readily and easily withdrawn after having by misuse or othercause passed over a portion of scale without removing it, since as thearms move inwardly these cutters assume angular or deflected positionswith respect to the shaft A, thereby giving the rear portion of thecutter-head somewhat the form of a cone, whereby it will readily rideover the obstruction. Furthermore, independently of the particulararrangement of the rear cutters as shown and described the arrangementof the cutters generally on the pivoted arms with their journals in theplane of the radial movement of said arms is one of particulareffectiveness. It will be understood that the centrifugal force ofrotation tends to keep said arms thrown out or expanded to theirfullextent, but that such movement is opposed by the resistance of thescale. The consequence is that said arms have more or less of avibratory or hammer action and that during such action the angle ofpresentation of the teeth of the cutter-wheels varies with greateffectthat is to say, as the said teeth penetrate deeper into the scaletheir edges not only move outward, but also slightly forward, to theeffect that they exercise a prying or wedging action, which ispeculiarly effective.

We prefer to differentiate the cutters of the different arms, wherebythose of one arm will not cut in the same circular paths as those ofadjacent arms. In this manner the cutting action is equally distributedthrough the length of the head.

For light work the arms D may be in the form of pins which pass directlythrough the cutters and form the journals thereof, said pins beingpivoted at their forward ends and allowed to play in the slots E attheir rear ends in the same manner as the arms first described. Thisconstruction is illustrated in drawings.

Having thus described our invention, what we claim as new, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is

1. A tube-cleaning tool or implement comprising essentially a carryingand driving shaft, a head secured thereto, a series of arms .pivoted tosaid head at their forward end portions and free to move radiallyalimiteddistance at their rear portions, and a number of rolling cutterscarried by each of the said arms at different points along its length,and journaled at diiferent distances from, and at different angles withrespect to the said shaft and with respect to a plane taken transverselythrough the said shaft, substantially as specified.

2. A tube-cleaning tool or implement con sisting essentially of acarrying and driving shaft, a head secured thereto, a series of armsjpivotally secured in or to the said head at their forward end portionsand free to move radially at their rear portions, said arms hav ing eacha series of sets of rolling cutters journaled thereon, the cutters ofthe first and intermediate sets being journaled at a differ= ent anglefrom those of the rear sets, substan= tially as specified.

3. A tube-cleaning device or implement consisting essentially of adriving and carrying shaft, a head secured thereto, a series of armspivoted to the said head at their forward end portions and extendingrearwardly round the said shaft, the forward and intermediate portionsof said arms being inclined outwardly with respect to the shaft whiletheir rear portions are reversely inclined and are free to assumepositions substantially parallel with said shaft, and a plurality ofrolling cutters carried by each of the said arms, substantially asspecified.

4. A tube'cleaning tool or implement consisting essentially of acarrying and driving shaft, a head secured thereto, a series of armspivotally secured to said head at their forward end portions and attheir rear end portions loosely engaging the same to have a limitedradial movement, and a plurality of rolling cutters journaled to each ofthe said arms at different angles with respect to the shaft, the cuttersof each arm being journaled so as to work in difierent circular planesfrom the cutters of the adjacent arms, substantially as specified.

5. In a rotary boiler-tube cleaner, the combination with a rotary shaftor carrier, of a number of rigid arms disposed longitudinally about thesame and pivoted thereto at their forward ends, to move outwardly inradial planes, said arms having journal portions whose axes runlengthwise of the arms and are longitudinal in the planes of the radialmovement of said arms, and peripherallytoothed cutter wheels or disksloosely mounted on the said journal portions, substantially asspecified.

6. Thecombination with the shell or body, of a rotary head arranged atthe front end of said shell or body, means whereby said head is rapidlyrotated, rearwardly-diverging arms arranged lengthwise of said head andconnected therewith at their front ends by transverse pivots so as' tobe swung out at their rear ends by centrifugal force, and cutterdisksmounted transversely on the free rear portions of said arms, wherebysaid cutterdisks are caused to trail as the device is moved forwardlyand are presented to the work in an oblique position with the enteringend nearer the axis of the head than the rear end, substantially asspecified.

In testimony whereof we affix our signatures-in presence of twowitnesses.

\VILBER DAVID FORSYTH.

ENOS T. BELL.

'Witnesses:

R. O. MoLEAN, J os. G. ORMsBY.

